How would someone characterize US Soccer's Summer of 2009? The extreme optimist would say that the US made a non-CONCACAF tournament major final for the 1st time by ending Spain's world record streak, then with a "B" side made it to the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The extreme pessimist would say that the United States squad blew a massive opportunity to establish themselves as a major world footballing nation with their collapse in the 2nd half Confederations Cup final. Add to that Mexico put their cleats in the US rectum on US soil in the final of a tournament they have recently owned.

Both sides have legitimate points, however my leaning is 80-20 towards the pessimist side. Its not all bad but it should have been much better.

Let's begin in South Africa, where the US took advantage of the fact that they barely made it into the semis. The way they got into the semis wasn't anything to be proud of but hey they made it in so I won't hold that against them. In beating Spain 2-0 in the semis, the U.S. earned massive respect but needed to lift the trophy in order to achieve "Miracle On Ice" status and stop the world footballing community from looking down on the US soccer program. In the biggest final in US Soccer history, The Stars & Stripes choked, played scared in the 2nd half with a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 to Brazil. At this level of football, its no trophy, no glory, no respect.

The difference between Brazil, Germany, Italy and the elite footballing nations and the US is trophies in international tournaments outside their own confederations. Brazil, Germany, Italy each have multiple trophies and the US have zero. Lifting the Confederations Cup by beating Brazil would have been a great boost to US Soccer's reputation in the world football community.

Now onto the CONCACAF Gold Cup, a tournament the US was expected to win and coming in had won the last 2 editions and 3 of the last 4 stagings. To no one's surprise, the US made it to the final with their "B" side. That's nothing to smile about because that was what the Americans were supposed to do, praising their place in the Gold Cup final is like heaping glory upon a 2 month old for soiling their diaper.

In the final, once again in the 2nd half, the US wilted and let their arch-rival stomp them to a 5-0 embarrassment. The Americans looked slow, unorganized, and helpless. There is no excuse for that loss and the notion that it was the "B" side is no consolation. If the US is to be considered a great program,they have to display their depth by winning tournaments with their "B" side.

If you are counting that's 8 goals allowed in two 2nd halves of 2 major international tournament finals almost a month apart. The 20% optimist says that its fulfilling to have reached two finals but the 80% pessimist says that the manner with which they lost those finals were embarrassing and shameful.

The summer of 2009 for U.S. Soccer should be remembered for its finals disappointments. The lesson of the summer of 2009: To fully appreciate winning, you have to feel the pain of losing.

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The exciting 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup is unfortunately over as the final matchday witnessed 2 dramatic matches with identical scorelines that justify football's place as "The Beautiful Game." The 3rd place game was a Thriller.

La Furia Roja and Bafana Bafana played an extra time affair whose drama started in the 2nd half with some fire from a couple of subs. Neither team could establish their advantage until the 73rd minute when South African substitute Katlego Mphela scored from a Siphiwe Tshabalala centering pass to give South Africa the 1-0 lead.

Spain's own super sub Daniel Güiza came on for Fernando Torres and scored a pair of goals a minute apart in the 87th & 88th minute. Güiza's 2nd goal was a GOLAZO as the Turkish based striker buried a well-placed looping shot over South African keeper Itumeleng Khune.

The crowd in Rustenburg were headed for the exits when Mphela blasted a marvelous free kick 3 minutes into injury time as the GOLAZO sent the 3rd place match to extra time and breathed hope into the home side.

The match was eventually decided early in the 2nd extra time period when Xabi Alonso's bending free kick bounced past Khune into the back of the net. Spain held on to claim 3rd place in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup with a 3-2 win. South Africa's performances against Spain & Brazil were excellent and gave South Africans justified hope for a memorable showing in 2010.

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It was supposed to be a butt whippin, it was supposed to be like that supermodel that bitched Terrell Owens on the new NBC show, Superstars. The FIFA Confederations Cup semifinal between Spain and the USA would set US Soccer back 20 years. Everyone who watches football thought that La Furia Roja would embarrass the Stars & Stripes (including myself).

However, Bob Bradley and his crew were the only ones who believed and with body sacrificing defending and timely finishing, the United States pulled off the greatest win in US Soccer history. A 2-0 victory against the "world's best team" that had all kind of world record streaks was a result of American grit.

The Americans began the 1st half pressing the action and aggressively attacking the Spaniards, something the European champs were definitely uncomfortable with. That early aggression paid off when Jozy Altidore outmuscled defender Joan Capdevila, held off Carles Puyol and sent a shot on goal that caught captain Iker Casillas leaning the wrong way and found the back of the net even though the Real Madrid keeper got a palm on it.

After the 27th minute the US led 1-0 and had breached a Spanish defense that hadn't allowed a goal all tournament. From that point on the Spaniards pressed hard to get the equalizer but every time it looked like they would score a US defender was going to ground deflecting a shot, sacrificing bruises for a historic clean sheet.

Fierce defending and superior keeping by Tim Howard kept Spain at bay and eventually put the US in a position to seal a place in the final. In the 74th minute that place in the championship game was finalized when Landon Donovan's centering pass was lazily handled by Sergio Ramos allowing Clint Dempsey to slide from behind and put the ball past Casillas for the back breaking 2-0 lead and win.

After 90+ minutes it was over, Spain's world record streaks: DONE, Spain-Brazil Dream Final: NOT GONNA HAPPEN, Future underestimation of US Soccer in non-CONCACAF international competitions (US is never underestimated in CONCACAF Competitions): NEVER AGAIN.

Spain must be hating US sports teams right now. This Confederations Cup semifinal loss and the loss in the gold medal basketball match to the US in the 2008 Beijing Olympics have left Spain devoid of some major titles.

This victory was not the final, its important that the US refocus on winning the Confederations Cup trophy and make this victory last in the minds of their detractors. When Muhammad Ali beat Sonny Liston he loudly boasted that he shook up the world, after the 2-0 win over Spain, US Soccer can make the same claim.

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The expression "That's why they play the games" was never more fitting than the last round of matches in Group B of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. The United States look DONE. The Stars & Stripes had scored 1 goal and allowed 6 in their first 2 Group B matches, they had more red cards than goals, U.S. were practically eliminated and no one thought they would advance to the Semis.

Basically, there had to be about a 6 goal shift between the US and Italy with Egypt having to lose to the U.S. Seemingly improbable events but sonofabitch it happened. Bob Bradley finally played Charlie Davies and it payed off with his 21st minute goal that was more persistence than skill but it was the kind of play that the Americans needed.

It was a massive confidence booster that lead to the US defeating Egypt 3-0, surprising the entire world who thought Egypt would terminate the Confederations Cup dreams of the Stars & Stripes.

Meanwhile, the Italians were getting run off the pitch by Brazil whose offensive talents, counter attacking prowess, and speed were too much for the World Champs who were spared a worse beating with a 3-0 loss.

Andrea Dossena's own goal in the 45th minute proved to be the goal that gave the US a semifinal berth. Dual 3-0 results and the US get to play Spain in the semifinals. All Italy & Egypt needed to do was get 1 goal and one of them could be in the semis but they both failed. Every scenario fell into place for a US side that probably didn't deserve to advance but neither did Egypt and Italy so the US did what they were supposed to do.

The Americans competed with more grit than The Pharaohs & The Azzurri and now they face the best team in the world, La Furia Roja - Spain. Everyone is predicting an a Spanish annihilation of the US but this last round of matches proves that anything is possible.

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Marcelo Lippi finalized his Azzurri squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and the big news is that Inter's teenage sensation Davide Santon. The youngster played mostly left back for Inter but is seen as a player who can play on both sides.

Three red-hot attacking players with breakout seasons in the 08-09 Serie A campaign were left off the list in favor of more veteran Azzurri players. Sampdoria forward Giampaolo Pazzini, Udinese midfielder Gaetano D'Agostino, and Bologna's Marco Di Vaio were left off in favor of Milan's Andrea Pirlo, Udinese's Fabio Quagliarella, and Bayern's Luca Toni.

No surprise that all but 5 players called by Lippi make their dough playing in the Serie A, the World Champs open the FIFA Confederations Cup against the United States on June 15, then the Azzurri take on Egypt three days later and finish group play against Brazil on June 21.

Here is the complete Italian squad:

Goalkeepers:
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Marco Amelia (Palermo), Morgan De Sanctis (Galatasaray).

Defenders:
Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan), Andrea Dossena (Liverpool), Alessandro Gamberini (Fiorentina), Fabio Grosso (Lyon), Nicola Legrottaglie (Juventus), Davide Santon (Inter Milan).

Midfielders:
Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria)

Forwards:
Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese), Luca Toni (Bayern Monaco), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal).

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It is well known that Italy is a center of high fashion and style. The Azzurri jersey is naturally an extension of that fashion sense. The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup will see a new Italian shirt that promises to be a hot seller. Check it out:

The new shirt will be worn by the 4-time World Champions who are drawn in Group B, the "Group of Death." Group B features Copa America champion - Brazil, African Cup of Nations champion - Egypt, and CONCACAF Gold Cup champion - USA. The Confederations Cup begins on June 14th.

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The 1st test for South Africa and its preparations for the 2010 World Cup will be the 2009 Confederations Cup. The main focus will be the readiness of the stadiums and for the short tournament in June, 4 stadiums have been chosen to host Confederations Cup matches.

Loftus Versfeld Stadium - Tshwane/Pretoria

The stadium was named in 1932 after Robert Owen Loftus Versfeld who was the founder of organized sports in Pretoria. The site for the stadium was 1st used in 1906 and has been used for numerous sports events including the 1995 Rugby World Cup and 1996 CAF Africa Cup of Nations. It is home stadium for the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club of the South African Premier League. After upgrades it will have a capacity of around 52,000.

Ellis Park - Johannesburg

Opened in 1928, Ellis Park is located in South Africa's largest city and was named after J.D. Ellis, a Johannesburg city counselor who got the land for the stadium to be built. It was originally built for rugby union matches and witnessed the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup in which the South Africa's Springboks defeated New Zealand's All Blacks 15-12. The stadium is also known as Coca-Cola Park and became the 1st black owned stadium in South Africa and is the home to the Orlando Pirates Football Club of the South African Premier League. After upgrades, the stadium capacity will reach 65,000.

Free State Stadium - Mangaung/Bloemfontein

Free State Stadium also known as Vodacom Park is the southernmost of the stadiums hosting the Confederations Cup. It is located in Maugaung aka Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State province. The stadium hosted Africa Cup of Nations matches in 1996 and Rugby World Cup matches in 1995. It is the home stadium of the South African Premier League team, Bloemfontein Celtic. The capacity of the stadium after renovations will be around 48,000.

Royal Bafokeng Stadium - Rustenburg

The Royal Bafokeng Stadium was originally built as a rugby stadium and is named after the people native to the area. The Bafokeng people have grown rich via platinum mining in the area. In 1999, the Bafokeng won a legal settlement that gave them a 22 percent royalty on all platinum taken from their cultural land and because of this money, the stadium has been kept in excellent condition as only minor renovations will be needed. The stadium is only a 25 minute drive from the controversial Sun City resort and after the renovations & upgrades the stadium will have a capacity of about 42,000.

In June, the champions of FIFA's confederations along with the host nation, South Africa and world champion, Italy will entertain us with some great football and confirm to the world that football is the beautiful game. More importantly, the 2009 Confederations Cup will give us a hint into South Africa's preparations for The Great Tournament.

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